HIU Seminar | Prof. Anass Benayad
Prof. Anass Benayad will be guest during the upcoming HIU Seminar taking place on Monday, 17th January 2026 at 2:00 pm: The talk will be held in person in the large seminar room (230) at the HIU and streamed under the usual Zoom link: The title of the talk will be “Contributions of Soft and Hard Photoemission Spectroscopy to the study of energy storage materials, challenges and perspectives".
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are pivotal in the current energy transition, supporting electric mobility and renewable energy storage. However, their performance is constrained by the ability to exchange lithium ions and electrons across the various electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Understanding the mechanism behind the charge transfer process at theses interfaces is essential for designing high-density electrode materials with robust structural and chemical stability under different cycling conditions. To achieve this, it is crucial to employ non-destructive characterization techniques to monitor these processes at relevant space and time scales.
In this presentation, we introduce a combined approach using soft and hard X-ray photoelectron (XPS/HAXPES), supported by appropriate cluster model simulations, to elucidate the role of cations and anions in the charge compensation mechanism in the layered transition metal oxides (LiMO2, M: Co, Ni) electrodes.
The second part of this presentation will address the challenges of performing accurate operando protocols combining two spectroscopies, photoemission and impedance spectroscopy to determine the local chemical structure of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in lithium metal-based batteries.